NEW DELHI, 26 October 2007 — The three-day South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting on terrorism ended here yesterday with ministers from the participating countries reiterating their commitment to move from rhetoric to action.
They also reaffirmed their commitment to the need for a secure environment for facilitating economic growth, development and progress of the region. The ministers urged enhanced coordination and networking among the police forces of the SAARC countries.
“With terrorism a serious threat to sustainable peace and development in the SAARC region, the meeting called upon member states to strengthen institutional mechanisms with the aim to facilitate closer co-operation, more frequent interaction and regular exchange of information among the law enforcement agencies of the member states, a statement issued after the meeting said.
They viewed it as essential to effectively combat the menace of terrorism and other related crimes such as drug trafficking, money-laundering, human trafficking and arms smuggling, it said.
Home secretaries of SAARC states had a meeting on Wednesday while police officials of the countries met on Tuesday.
The meeting chaired by Home Minister Shivraj V. Patil yesterday agreed that police chiefs of member countries should meet bi-annually instead of annually. Pakistan has offered to host the next meeting in Islamabad in February 2008.
The ministers observed that the SAARC Terrorist Offenses Monitoring Desk (STOMD) and the SAARC Drug Offenses Monitoring Desk (SDOMD), located in Sri Lanka, should be strengthened and operationally energized. The offer made by India to provide assistance in strengthening the infrastructure of these desks was noted at the meeting. In this connection, a team of Indian experts would visit Sri Lanka soon.
Appreciating the progress made by SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism and the Additional Protocol and SAARC Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances, the ministers reiterated the “need for pro-active and sustained measures and mutual cooperation to combat these.”
On the SAARC visa scheme, the members agreed to provide a special tenure-linked dispensation to officials of SAARC secretariat and to include retired judges of Supreme Courts and serving high court judges in consolidated list of entitled persons.
Sonia Meets Chinese Leaders Today
India’s ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi began a five-day visit to China yesterday, the latest sign of improving relations between the world’s two most populous nations.
Sonia is scheduled to meet with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao today at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party, a high-profile honor that is normally reserved for heads of state.
